Pharmacists are often barred from telling customers that a drug would be cheaper if they paid out of pocket — also referred to as paying cash — instead of going through their health insurance.

For me, that tip applies to only a couple of generic medications that my household takes. For all other prescriptions, I rely on discounted gift cards to effectively lower my copay.

Using discounted gift cards

I often buy gift cards for less than their face value. For example, I might purchase a $100 CVS gift card for $85 — 15 percent less than its face value.

You can find these bargains on discounted gift card marketplaces like Cardpool.com and Raise.com. These websites enable folks with unwanted gift cards to sell them, which means savvy shoppers like me can then buy them at a discount.

You can think of them as something like an eBay for gift cards, except that Cardpool and Raise guarantee all the gift cards they sell for one year. So, if you happen to buy one that turns out to be a dud, you can get your money back.

When you use a discounted gift card to buy stuff, you effectively never pay full price for those items. For example, if I buy a gift card for 15 percent off its face value and then use it to pay a prescription drug copay, I effectively get away with paying only 85 percent of the copay.

Of course, you can use a discounted gift card to buy anything you could normally buy with a gift card. A discounted gift card for CVS, for example, can be used to buy just about anything CVS sells. I just find most folks never think to use discounted gift cards to save money on prescriptions.

If you ever buy discounted gift cards, always check Gift Card Granny first. The website will tell you which marketplace is selling a particular retailer’s gift card at the lowest price at any given time.

Find the best:

Walmart discounts a selection of items via its Holiday Deals Sale. (Prices are as marked.) Choose in-store pickup to avoid the $5.99 shipping fee, or get free shipping with orders of $35 or more. A couple of best bets:

YouTube offers a selection of HD movies to stream for free (with ads). That's around $3 to $5 less than you'd pay for a rental of these movies elsewhere. Movies include The Terminator (pictured), Legally Blonde, Four Weddings and a Funeral, and Jiro Dreams of Sushi.

YouTube offers a selection of HD movies to stream for free (with ads). That's around $3 to $5 less than ... Read
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Updated: 2 weeks 3 days ago

Costco discounts a selection of major household appliances during its Holiday Appliance Sale. (Prices are as marked for Costco members; non-members pay a 5% surcharge. Many discounts are for members only.) Plus, most items receive free shipping; otherwise, shipping starts at $1.99.

Samsung takes up to $1,500 off a selection of QLED TVs and Frame TVs during its Early Access Black Friday ... Read
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Updated: November 2, 2018

Starbucks offers a $10 Starbucks eGift Card bundled with a $5 Starbucks Gift Card for $10. (The $5 card appears automatically in-cart after you fill in some personal details; you must check out via Masterpass.) That's a savings of $5. Deal ends December 20.

Walmart discounts a selection of clothing, toys, electronics, and more during its 20 Days of Deals promotion. (The deals change ... Read
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Updated: 2 weeks 1 day ago

Costco offers its members the Jetson Bolt Folding Electric Scooter for $299.99 with free shipping. (Non-members pay $15 extra.) That's the lowest price we could find by $100. It features an LED headlight, LCD display, 16mph max speed, and carrying handle.

Joe's New Balance Outlet discounts a selection of New Balance men's and women's shoes to $25 or $30 via coupon ... Read
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Updated: 17 hr 8 min ago

Walmart offers the sixth-generation Apple iPad 9.7" 32GB WiFi Tablet in several colors (Space Gray pictured) for $229 with free shipping. That's $20 under our mention from four days ago and the lowest price we've seen for this model. (It's the best deal today by $21.)

Note: Orders placed with free shipping by 2 pm local time on December 20 are expected to arrive in time for Christmas.

Burberry cuts up to 60% off a selection of men's, women's, and kids' apparel, shoes, and accessories. Plus, all items ... Read
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Updated: 1 week 1 day ago

Walmart discounts a selection of items with prices starting from 60 cents for it's Last Chance Deals. Choose in-store pickup to dodge the $5.99 shipping fee, or bag free shipping on orders of $35 or more. A couple of best bets:

Panda Express takes 35% off online orders of any Family Feast Meal via coupon code "35YEARS". That's a savings of around $11 for a regular-priced meal, which includes three large entrees and two large sides. (Additional charges apply for premium entrees.) This offer is only valid for online orders. Deal ends December 31.

Ecco takes an extra 40% off all sale shoes and accessories via coupon code "DEC18" during its Year-End Sale. Plus, My Ecco Loyalty members bag free shipping on all orders. (Not a member? It's free to join. Be sure to select "ground shipping" during checkout.) That ties its Black Friday sale as the best extra discount we've seen from Ecco this year. (For further comparison, it only took an extra 30% off during its year-end sale last year.) Some exclusions may apply. Deal ends December 21.

Best Choice Products takes $5 off a selection of items via coupon code "EASY5", with prices starting from $4.99. Plus, all orders bag free shipping. That yields strong prices on a wide range of items. Deal ends December 20. A couple of best bets after coupon:

Burger King offers a Whopper Sandwich for 1 cent when you order via the Burger King app... within 600 feet of a McDonald's location. While this is likely the most blatantly troll-faced offer we'll ever list, it's also probably the best price we'll ever see for a Whopper. The deal is limited to one sandwich per customer. Comment below with a solemn promise to be responsible with this power, and not subject McDonald's employees to even the slight hazing they receive in Burger King's promo video.

Burger King offers a Whopper Sandwich for 1 cent when you order via the Burger King app... within 600 feet ... Read
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Updated: 1 week 6 days ago

Best Buy offers free shipping sitewide with no minimum required. (It did the same this time last year.) That's a savings of at least $3 on every order and a rare free shipping offer from Best Buy. Deal ends December 25.

Today, Apple unveiled its new Apple iPad Pro lineup, which includes 11" and 12.9" models. Both feature an edge-to-edge "Liquid Retina" LCD display. The Home Button has been removed, while Face ID support has been added. Apple's propietary Lightning connector has been replaced with the industry standard USB-C. They're powered by the A12X Bionic chip with an 8-core CPU and 7-core GPU.

The base 11" model comes with 64GB of flash storage and costs $799, while the base 12.9" 64GB model goes for $999. 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB versions, as well as 4G-equipped models, are available at an additional cost. (The top-of-the-line iPad Pro 12.9" 1TB WiFi + Cellular model costs $1,899.) These new iPad Pro models can be ordered today and begin shipping next week.

Looking for a deal on these and other iPads? Check out our Apple iPad Black Friday predictions to see what deals you can expect soon.

Klipsch takes up to 50% off a selection of audio equipment as part of its Black and Copper Friday Sale. ... Read
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Updated: November 24, 2018

As one of its daily deals, UntilGone offers the 2nd-generation Motorola Moto 360 42mm Smartwatch in Black for $99.99. Coupon code "MOTO5" cuts that to $94.99. With free shipping, that's $305 off and the lowest price we've seen for this model in any condition. Deal ends December 19. Features include:

JetBlue Airways via DealBase discounts select JetBlue 1-Way Fares Nationwide with prices starting from $33.17. (On the DealBase landing page, click on "JetBlue" in the top line to see this sale.) That's the lowest price we could find for select routes now by at least $15. This price is valid on flights departing January 8, 2019, from Long Beach, CA, (LGB) with arrival in San Jose, CA, (SJC). Blackout dates apply. Book this travel deal by December 19 for travel from January 8 through March 27, 2019.

All prices, dates, and booking details were valid at the time of publication.

As a result of a class action settlement, customers who purchased select Premier Protein Ready-To-Drink Protein Shake products may be ... Read
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Updated: October 31, 2018

Nordstrom Rack takes up to 80% off a selection of Nike men's, women's, and kids' shoes and apparel. (Many prices drop in-cart; others are as marked.) Shipping starts at $7.95, but orders of $100 or more qualify for free shipping. A couple of best bets:

Walmart offers the Arcade1Up 4-Foot Astroids Gaming Machine for an in-cart price of $199 with free shipping. That's tied with last week's mention and the lowest price we could find by $101. It features a 17" LCD screen and four games (Asteroids, Major Havoc, Lunar Lander, and Tempest).